This Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini is the kind of easy, cheesy dinner that’s perfect for nights when you don’t have much energy left for anything else. Made with just four main ingredients plus a few simple seasonings, everything gets dumped into one dish and baked until warm, bubbly, and delicious. It’s cozy pizza-inspired comfort food with hardly any prep and even fewer dishes to clean up afterward.
I don’t know why I went so long without making dump and bake recipes. Maybe it’s just that I didn’t know it was a thing?! People always talk about sheet pan dinners. But I find sometimes with sheet pan dinners you need to do a bunch of prep before or afterwards. Or you have to precook your proteins or certain things. I knew there had to be easier ways (because if I’m already having to cook most of the ingredients I may as well just finish it on the stove and not have to create yet another dirty dish to clean).
Dump and bake recipes are great because you literally just dump everything into a pan and bake it. It’s perfect, easy, and simple.
I used to make a recipe similar to this but I called it a pizza casserole, so I started wondering if I could convert it into a true dump and bake recipe, and let me tell you it turned out perfectly. My stepsons and their friends devoured this Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini.
I hope you enjoy.
Make this Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini when…
- you don’t have a lot of hands on time or energy left to cook
- you want something filling and comforting
- you want something even the picky husband and kids will eat
Ingredient notes…
Here is what you’ll need to make this Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini recipe. Please be sure to check the recipe card for the exact ingredients and measurements.
- Pepperoni: Pepperoni adds a lot of flavor to this dish. It’s also cured so you don’t need to worry about making sure it cooks all the way through like other proteins.
- Tortellini: The base of this dish. I used one of the multicolored packs of fridge Tortellini from Costco because it was on sale, but you can use any kind of Tortellini you prefer (even frozen would work).
- Pasta sauce or Marinara: Use your favorite jar of tomato sauce to make this dish a hit. I used Marinara because I have a lot of that on hand, but you can use Pasta sauce or any type of tomato sauce you wish. You could even use a jar of alfredo sauce instead, but it just wouldn’t make it the typical pepperoni pizza flavors.
- Shredded cheese: I used shredded Mozzarella cheese to keep the flavors just like a pizza, but you can use any type of shredded cheese that you wish.
- Garlic powder: Used to add flavor to the dish. Omit or use any other type of seasoning you prefer.
- Onion powder: Used to add flavor to the dish. Omit or use any other type of seasoning you prefer.
- Italian Seasoning: Used to add flavor to the dish. Omit or use any other type of seasoning you prefer.
- (Optional) Dried Parsley: Added to give the dish a pop of color.
Equipment I swear by…
- A long oven safe baking dish. I used a 8.9 Inch by 13.2 Inch – 3 Qt Pyrex one
- Non-stick cooking spray
While the Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini Bakes…
- Listen to a podcast episode
- Write in your journal
- Draw or paint something
How to make this Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini…
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- In a greased, oven-safe cooking dish add your tortellini, one jar of sauce, one and a half cups of pepperoni, 2 cups of shredded cheese, and your garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Mix well.
- Spread the remaining half jar of sauce on the top. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top, sprinkle the parsley on it, and then evenly space out the rest of your pepperoni on the top.
- Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Let it cool a bit and enjoy.
My tips and tricks to make this recipe…
Add some veggies: You can always add veggies to this dish like mushrooms, peppers or broccoli.
Add bacon bits: Add bacon for even more protein and to add a smokey flavor.
Spice it up: Add some cayenne pepper as seasoning, or even hot sauce if you like things spicy.
Storage notes:
Refrigerate: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven or air fryer.
Freeze: This recipe stores great in the freezer after it’s cooked. You just need to thaw it and then reheat it slowly before eating. This is also a great meal prep recipe where you could combine the entire dump and bake dish, freeze it, and then bake it when you are ready to eat it. You just may need to increase the cooking time to ensure everything is evenly heated from frozen.
Thank you for stopping by Comfort In a Bowl. If you have any questions, or made any additions/shortcuts that you think other people may love feel free to comment below. If you create this recipe or any other from our site, we would greatly appreciate you taking the time to share, comment and rate the recipe! Take care of yourself.
Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini
Ingredients
- 2 cups Pepperoni
- 1 package Tortellini (the big family style bag or package around 36 oz)
- 1.5 jars Pasta sauce or Marinara
- 4 cups Shredded cheese I used Mozzarella
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Onion powder
- 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- Dried Parsley Optional, to add color on top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- In a greased, oven-safe cooking dish add your tortellini, one jar of sauce, one and a half cups of pepperoni, 2 cups of shredded cheese, and your garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Mix well.
- Spread the remaining half jar of sauce on the top. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top, sprinkle the parsley on it, and then evenly space out the rest of your pepperoni on the top.
- Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Let it cool a bit and enjoy.
Notes
Interested in more easy dump and bake recipes?
- Dump and Bake Creamy Boursin Gnocchi
- Dump and Bake Chicken with Baby Potatoes and Green Beans
- Creamy Garlic Herb Sausage Orzo
- Creamy Garlic and Herb Tomato Spinach Pasta
My burnout situation…
I have mentioned it a few times in my updates, but I am not the only employee that is on a leave. Out of like six employees in my specific department, at one point like five of the six of us had been on some sort of leave. Some medical leaves, some stress leaves, some people went on both, and some leaves were overlapping and some weren’t.
One of my coworkers was one of my best friends at work. She and I were basically holding the entire place together while other people were on leaves, and dealing with temporary employees and a lot of chaos, and also trying to hold each other together. When I finally decided to take some of my vacation time after years basically, she lasted like 3 days without me before everything exploded and she went on a leave.
I only lasted another five months or so without her, before I also couldn’t take it anymore and my doctor put me on a leave.
She is still off and has not returned to the workplace. We used to catch up and stay in touch a lot, but I think we both found that it was pretty triggering. We can’t really enjoy our leaves and spend time healing and taking care of ourselves if we are still so deeply enmeshed in what has happened and what’s currently going on in the workplace. So we just check in with each other every now and then. We also get together every so often as well.
It’s been nice not doing this completely al0ne and knowing that there is other people also experiencing what I’m experiencing, even though I wish she wasn’t going through this because she doesn’t deserve it.
I think that’s part of why I decided to start sharing my journey. I want people to know they aren’t alone.
Conclusion…
This Dump and Bake Pizza Tortellini recipe is great to make when you don’t have a lot of energy and you want something that takes minimal effort, but still tastes great.
Take care of yourself.
-Caitlin
